Neonatal deaths increase to 12 in Tunisia

TUNIS, March 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 12 cases of neonatal deaths have been recorded in the Rabta Hospital so far, Tunisian Interim Minister of Health Sonia Ben Sheikh announced Monday.

"The death of the 12 newborns is due to a nosocomial infection that occurred during their hospitalization," Ben Sheikh said at a press conference held in Tunis, adding that the risk of death is 40 percent.

The interim minister of health emphasized that this incident will not pass without any reaction. She denied rumors that the death of these newborns was caused by the existence of drugs or expired serum at the obstetrics and neonatology departments in the Rabta Hospital.

"Every effort will be made to disclose the whole truth," said Ben Sheikh, adding that there is a political manipulation taking advantage of this tragedy for partisan interests.

"The former health minister Abderraouf Al Sherif should not be alone in assuming responsibility. It is a combination of several years of bad governance of the public health sector," she concluded.